SpaceX signs second commercial deal for Starship lunar lander with Lunar Outpost

As SpaceX’s spacecraft testing program continues to gain momentum, the company has signed a second commercial deal to send a payload to the Moon using a lunar variant of the jumbo craft.

Starship will deliver a rugged Lunar Outpost rover called Eagle to the lunar surface by 2029, the Colorado startup said. Lunar Outpost CEO Justin Cyrus declined to provide other details about the mission, such as whether it will be a special flight or part of a rideshare trip, or the cost. It’s also unclear how Starship will actually transport the rover, which looks like a small pickup truck, from inside a car to the surface.

The Lunar Outpost rover’s ambitions received a major boost from NASA earlier this year when the space agency selected it along with two other teams for the initial phase of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) program. Three teams have been selected for a one-year contract to advance their Mars rover concepts for potential use by astronauts as part of NASA’s Artemis program. The 12-month period will culminate in a subsequent competitive request for proposals, during which three companies will compete to win the demonstration task.

The LTV program has the potential to be very lucrative, with a total potential order value of $4.6 billion over the next 13 years, although the agency said it is choosing only one supplier due to budget concerns.

Even if NASA doesn’t select the team led by Lunar Outpost, which also includes Leidos, General Motors, Goodyear and MDA Space, Cyrus said the company plans to continue developing the rover.

“Lunar Outpost Eagle is our flagship and will serve as the basis for outposts on other planetary bodies,” he said in an emailed statement. “Our company has been focused on mobility since its inception, and the lunar rover accelerates our truly industry-leading capabilities that enable a sustainable presence on the Moon and Mars.”

Last month, the startup also closed a Series A round for an undisclosed amount to support several initiatives, including the development of a Mars rover.

The new Starship cargo deal follows a similar contract SpaceX awarded last year to Venturi Astrolab, which is also leading the team selected under the LTV program to deliver its rover to the lunar surface.